Tusken Raider (With Massiff) - SW [S - P1] - Basic (’02 #52)

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

Nomadic tribespeople, Tusken Raiders scavenge and pilfer the sparsely populated areas of Tatooine. Also known as Sand People, they are a vicious lot, frequently raiding unsuspecting moisture farms in the desert regions. The massiffs are equally as vicious with razor sharp teeth and agile movements.

So is it an accessory or a figure? After Hasbro realized they goofed by releasing the Massiff with a Geonosian Warrior, they tried to remedy removing the egg on their face with a subsequent release to correct the earlier mistake. While it’s hard to fault them for releasing 2002’s SW Massiff (‘02 #34) figure since it came with two cool army builders, the release of Tusken Raider (With Massiff) put the story of Attack Of The Clones back on track with a correct pairing of Star Wars characters (if you need for everything to be screen accurate that is). Both figures in the Tusken Raider (With Massiff) “two-pack” are action figures you have already seen before because Hasbro had to release this in the line in a sudden fashion without much preparation. This was done to "forgive" the mistake they made earlier in the line. In order to get the “correction” out in a more timely fashion, they dug into their recent catalogue of the Power Of The Jedi line to resurrect the Tusken Raider from that collection and repaint it to make it "Episode II specific" we suppose. Paired with the same Massiff sculpt from the Star Wars “Saga” line, collectors now could own another duo of army builders to quickly add to their Attack Of The Clones collections.

Tusken Raider (With Massiff) is the same exact figure, as far as the sculpt is concerned, from the Power Of The Jedi line. It’s a fair sculpt for a Tusken Raider, but some may feel that it is already aging too quickly thanks to its minimal and significantly inhibited articulation. We also find that this sculpt has an obnoxious lean to it and when action figures can stand completely upright it is something that bothers us immensely. Because the plastic robes prevent most of its articulation from being useful, you’ll find that remedying any idiosyncrasies of the sculpt are pretty much moot. Physically, the sculpt of the Tusken Raider looks great, but he doesn’t come with any accessories (save for the Massiff) so you need to have him walking the beast in order to make this action figure seem functional. Otherwise it feels like something is missing, which frankly it is. The paint job is sloppily applied, but it looks great on a rough nomadic species like the Sand People, and even the Massiff imitates the look and feel of its “owner”, from its personality to its appearance: rugged, vicious, tenacious and dangerous.

The Tusken Raiders had a significant part in sending Anakin Skywalker down the path of the dark side. Obviously they not fully responsible, but Anakin developed uncontrollable anger and we all know where that ends up in Star Wars films. It was the Sand People that kidnapped his mother and ultimately murdered her which brought him to such a strong point of hatred and it was this rage that enabled him to kill the entire Tusken Raider clan, including the women and children. It may have been better for Hasbro to release an all-new sculpt of the Tusken Raider for its very first Episode II appearance instead of using an older figure and repaint it to make it Episode II specific. But it’s probably more than fair to say that this release was, for lack of a better word, a rushed job. It’s certainly not a terrible release. After all you get another Massiff and there were plenty in the Tusken Raider camp. Getting this much plastic for such a reasonable cost is a wonderful thing too. Besides, the Massiff is made well and comes with a cool mixed media accessory itself. While we can’t consider this release a total success, we appreciate Hasbro correcting the Massiff/Geonosian Warrior error. So for that reason we think it’s worth your time.

Collector Notes

Tusken Raider (With Massiff)

Status: Tusken Raider (With Massiff) is a repaint of 2000's POTJ Tusken Raider (Desert Sniper) figure but this time comes without the blaster rifle. The included Massiff is repaint of 2002's SW Massiff ('02 #34) figure.